Daily Republican., 1887-11-26
Po,,ticai Economy.

There appeared in your paper recent
ly IN editorial to the effect that IL poo
pie who worked for living would cur
tail their expenses and watch the ont
going of the i,ennies that there would
be o time In their lives whea they
would be beyond the reach OF want.
The principles Of political economy
seem to be rs little understood by edi'
tors generally as the line OF demarcA'
tion between reason and instinct.
hold that newspapers ss public educa'
tors should sCrupuous]y avoid dissent
mating doctrines or ideas that are not Ia
accord with sound resson. In q pre-.
vious Communication To your paper l
pointed out that individual economy
might produc o benefit, but that II
practioed by the boey politic would In
crease instead OF abolishing poverty.
Let me illustrate. suppose to-morrow "
all the people of this country wQuld
mutually agree to reduce their expen.
ditures onethird, what would be the
result? Simply this. Production woald
| be lin tied one.third. One-third less
cigars would be smoked and one-third
less tobacco raised. SO with meat and
evsrythins sise. One-third less capital
would be aAployed In production, al d
one.third OF the WORKING men OF thit
country would be thrown out of en-.
ploymeut.
But 1t is answered this Is not sound
logic. The prices Of commodities art
regulated by supply and demand, and
there would be no decrease In produc
tion but O. decrease In price, which
would be where the benefit would &C
crue.
/ reply 20 this that unless what wa
produced was consumed producticl
would still be limited ore-tbird. Tn
moment all people took advantage o
the low price up would go the cost. No
, would this be oil OF the evil. The com
petition OF labor would be so intense o.
account OF the millions idle that
would reduce wages to the verge Q
starvation rates without reducing th
number Of idlers Only by change 1
our system OF taxation has the han
:. snd brain worker any hope Of bettel
! mens of their condition. "Ths preseI
: system Of Indirect taxation is so grossl
unjgst and unfair that 1t takes from tn
16. go 900 hand workers OF this countr
4 every year fvs sixtbs Of all their poss
a BILE savings, while It takes from aboI
h 100 900 comparatively wealthy persor
a much lees than two-sixtf5 of their
Il and from the immep sely rich only OF
pact in thirty six" Here lies the seer
OF the fabulous fortunes b7ilt up In tn
country.
q But 1t Is replied this is merely q stat
T m'snt, where is your proot? To ar
one interested In this very importsl
d question who will send me their q
dsess will mail to them gratis, an q
tLcle on taxation which can not fail
lift the scales from thetr eyes. Tax,
~ We must have but they should not
:. lsid on labor and cSpital employed
!, production az now. Ghe REPUBLICA A
has led Its readers tc bel ieve that Il
doctrines OF Henry Geo rge are u
sound and that he is An enemy to CAP
y tai and human advancement, when c
q the contrary this applies TO his opp
70 nents. Poverty and tran lps are on n
increase and 30 are Large ,rtuues. q
= less present conditions ale altered t
=, e uns and VAndsls, (tran lps, socialis
- anarchists, SC } Of whi n McCaul,
, prorhelied, will destroy our ctvi1iz
tlon rs they did that of Ri ,ne. George
. theory does not mean that all d
a wealth in this country sh all be divid,
u up, or one cent be tale rom the rio
- as has been 80 industrious ~ circulate
brt that steady employr nent at got
Z wages shall be given to ev cry idle ma
g and this can be accon pills he'd by pu
!. ting the taxes where they can not
shifted, to either labGc or capital en-
b ploying labor, and that Is on the vail
? Of the bare land irrespe ,tive Of In
b proysments. Resp'y,
GEokGzi ". KRZgR.
n 1918 Tatnall street